Substrate processing apparatus and a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device

ABSTRACT

The temperature of a substrate is elevated rapidly while improving the temperature uniformity of the substrate. 
     The substrate is loaded into a process chamber, the loaded substrate is supported on a first substrate support unit, a gas is supplied to the process chamber, the temperature of the substrate supported on the first substrate support unit is elevated in a state of increasing the pressure in the process chamber to higher than the pressure during loading of the substrate or in a state of increasing the pressure in the process chamber to higher than the pressure during processing for the surface of the substrate, the substrate supported on the first substrate support unit is transferred to the second substrate support unit and supported thereon after lapse of a predetermined time, and the surface of substrate is processed while heating the substrate supported on the second substrate support unit.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention concerns a substrate processing apparatus and amethod of manufacturing a semiconductor device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the step of manufacturing semiconductor devices, a substrateprocessing apparatus of performing processing such as nitridation,oxidation, and annealing by heating the substrate is adopted. Thesubstrate processing apparatus described above has, for example, asubstrate support unit provided in a process chamber for processing asubstrate and supporting the substrate, and a heating unit for heatingthe substrate, in which the substrate loaded into the process chamber isplaced on the substrate support unit and the substrate is processedwhile being heated by the heating unit. Such a heating unit is sometimesprovided, for example, in the substrate support unit or in the upperportion of the process chamber.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In the substrate processing apparatus having the heating unit asdescribed above, it may be considered that the substrate is heated fromvarious directions such as on the side of the substrate support unit oron the side of the upper portion of the process chamber, or on bothsides of the substrate support unit and the upper portion of the processchamber. However, when the substrate is loaded into the process chamberand transferred to the substrate support unit, for example, only onesurface (lower surface) of the substrate is in contact with thesubstrate support unit. Then, when the substrate is heated in any of thedirections, the degree of heating is different between the surface incontact with the substrate support unit (lower surface) and anothernon-contact surface (upper surface), and the temperature elevation rateis sometimes different between the upper and the lower surfaces of thesubstrate. This sometimes lowers the temperature uniformity of thesubstrate.

Besides, in the existent substrate processing apparatus, it wasdifficult to increase the thickness of a film formed on the surface of awafer without greatly changing the process condition, for example, theflow rate of a processing gas, temperature in the process chamber, highfrequency power, etc.

The present invention intends to provide a substrate processingapparatus and a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device capableof rapidly increasing the temperature of a substrate while improving thetemperature uniformity of the substrate.

The present invention provides, in a first typical aspect,

-   -   a substrate processing apparatus comprising:    -   a process chamber for processing a substrate,    -   a first substrate support unit for supporting the substrate        loaded into the process chamber,    -   a second substrate support unit provided in the process chamber        for supporting the substrate transferred from the first        substrate support unit,    -   a heating unit for heating the substrate loaded into the process        chamber,    -   a gas supply unit for supplying a gas to the process chamber,    -   a gas exhaustion unit for exhausting the gas from the inside of        the process chamber, and    -   a control unit for controlling the first substrate support unit,        the heating unit, the gas supply unit, and the gas exhaustion        unit, or controlling the second substrate support unit, the        heating unit, the gas supply unit, and the gas exhaustion unit,        in which the control unit is    -   a unit that performs control for supporting the substrate loaded        into the process chamber on the first substrate support unit so        as to be spaced apart from the second substrate support unit,        supplying a gas from the gas supply unit to the process chamber,        heating to elevate the temperature of the substrate supported on        the first substrate support unit by the heating unit,        transferring the substrate supported on the first substrate        support unit after lapse of a predetermined time to the second        substrate support unit, and processing the substrate supported        on the second substrate support unit while heating by the        heating unit, and    -   performs control for increasing the pressure in the process        chamber during elevation of the temperature of the substrate        supported on the first substrate support unit to higher than the        pressure during loading of the substrate, or increasing the        pressure in the process chamber during elevation of the        temperature of the substrate supported on the first substrate        support unit to higher than the pressure when the substrate        supported on the second substrate support unit is processed.

The present invention provides, in another typical aspect,

-   -   a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device including the        steps of:    -   loading a substrate into a process chamber for processing the        substrate and supporting the substrate on a first substrate        support unit,    -   elevating the temperature of the substrate supported on the        first substrate support unit for a predetermined time,    -   transferring the substrate supported on the first substrate        support unit to a second substrate support unit provided in the        process chamber after the step of elevating the temperature of        the substrate,    -   processing the surface of the substrate transferred to the        second substrate support unit while heating, and    -   unloading the substrate processed in the step of processing the        surface of the substrate from the inside of the process chamber,        in which    -   in the step of loading the substrate, the substrate loaded into        the process chamber is supported on the first substrate support        unit above the second substrate support unit so as to be spaced        apart from the second substrate support unit, and    -   in the step of elevating the temperature of the substrate, a gas        is supplied to the process chamber and a pressure in the process        chamber is increased to higher than the pressure in the step of        loading the substrate or higher than the pressure in the step of        processing the surface of the substrate.

The present invention provides a substrate processing apparatus and amethod of manufacturing a semiconductor device capable of elevating atemperature of a substrate at a high speed while improving theuniformity of the temperature of the substrate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view showing a state of loading a substratein a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view showing a state of processing thesubstrate in the substrate processing apparatus according to the firstembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a gas exhaustion unit provided to thesubstrate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing an example of a gas exhaustion unitprovided to a substrate processing apparatus according to a secondembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing another example of a gas exhaustionunit provided to the substrate processing apparatus according to thesecond embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing a procedure of preparing samples incomparison between a case where the method of manufacturing asemiconductor device according to the first embodiment of the inventionis applied and a case where it is not applied;

FIG. 7 is a graph showing the thickness of a spontaneous oxide film ofsamples in comparison between a case where the method of manufacturing asemiconductor device according to the first embodiment of the inventionis applied and a case where it is not applied;

FIG. 8 is a vertical cross sectional view showing a structure and anarrangement of a gas flow restricting channel according to a fourthembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a cover defining a gas flow restrictingchannel according to the fourth embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a vertical cross sectional view showing the modified exampleof the gas flow restricting channel according to the fourth embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 11 is a graph showing a data for the thickness of film formed byusing a substrate processing apparatus according to the fourthembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a cover constituting a gas flowrestricting channel according to a fifth embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment

(1) Configuration of a Substrate Processing Apparatus

A substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of theinvention is to be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. FIG. 1is a view for a modified magnetron typed plasma processing apparatus asa substrate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment,which is a cross sectional view showing the state of loading asubstrate. FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view showing the state ofprocessing the substrate in the substrate processing apparatus accordingto the first embodiment.

The substrate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment isa modified magnetron typed plasma Processing Apparatus (hereinafterreferred to as an MMT apparatus) for plasma processing a wafer 200 suchas a silicon (Si) substrate by using a modified magnetron typed plasmasource for generating high density plasmas by electric fields andmagnetic fields. The MMT apparatus 100 is configured such that a wafer200 is loaded into a process chamber 201 kept in an airtight state and ahigh frequency voltage is applied under a predetermined pressure tovarious types of gases supplied in the process chamber 201 to causemagnetron discharge. The MMT apparatus 100, having such a configurationcan perform various plasma processings, for example, exciting aprocessing gas, etc. thereby performing diffusion processing such asoxidation or nitridation, forming a thin film to the wafer 200, oretching the surface of the wafer 200.

(Process Chamber)

The MMT apparatus 100 has a process furnace 202 for plasma processingthe wafer 200. A process vessel 203 constituting the process chamber 201is provided in the process furnace 202. The process vessel 203 has adome-shaped upper vessel 210 as a first vessel, and a cup-shaped lowervessel 211 as a second vessel. The process chamber 201 is formed bydisposing the upper vessel 210 over the lower vessel 211. The uppervessel 210 is formed of a non-metal material, for example, aluminumoxide (Al₂O₃) or quartz (SiO₂) and the lower vessel 211 is formed, forexample, of aluminum (Al).

A gate valve 244 is provided to the lower side wall of the lower vessel211. The gate valve 244 is configured such that the wafer 200 can beloaded into the process chamber 201 by using a transport mechanism (notillustrated) when the gate is opened or the wafer 200 can be unloaded tothe outside of the process chamber 201 when the valve is opened. Thegate valve 244 is also configured such that it functions as a shut-offvalve for keeping the inside of the process chamber 201 airtight whenthe valve is closed.

(Susceptor)

At the central portion on the bottom of the process chamber 201, asusceptor 217 as a second substrate support unit for supporting thewafer 200 is provided. The susceptor 217 is formed of a non-metalmaterial, for example, aluminum nitride (AlN), ceramics, and quartz, andconfigured such that metal contamination to a film, etc. formed on thewafer 200 can be decreased.

A heater 217 b as a heating unit is integrally buried inside thesusceptor 217. The heater 217 b is configured such that it can heat thesurface of the wafer 200, for example, to about 25° C. (degrees Celsius)to 700° C. when electric power is supplied.

The susceptor 217 is electrically insulated from the lower vessel 211.An impedance control electrode 217 c is installed inside the susceptor217. The impedance control electrode 217 c is grounded to the earth byway of a variable impedance mechanism 274 as an impedance control unit.The impedance control electrode 217 c functions as a second electrode toa cylindrical electrode 215 as a first electrode to be described later.The variable impedance mechanism 274 comprises a coil and a variablecapacitor and is configured such that the potential of the wafer 200(bias voltage) can be controlled by way of the impedance controlelectrode 217 c and the susceptor 217 by controlling the value for theinductance and the resistance of the coil and the capacitance value ofthe variable capacitor.

The susceptor 217 is provided with a susceptor lifting mechanism 268 forlifting the susceptor 217. Through holes 217 a vertically passingthrough the susceptor 217 are formed in the susceptor 217. On the otherhand, wafer projection pins 266 are provided as the first substratesupport unit to the bottom of the lower vessel 211. The through holes217 a and the wafer projection pins 266 are provided each at least onthree locations at the position opposing to each other. As shown in FIG.1, when the susceptor 217 is lowered by the susceptor lifting mechanism268, the wafer 200 loaded in the process chamber 201 is temporarilysupported on the wafer projection pins 266 since the wafer projectionpins 266 pass through the through holes 217 a not in contact with thesusceptor 217. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, when the susceptor 217 islifted by the susceptor lifting mechanism 268, the wafer 200 istransferred from the wafer projection pins 266 to the susceptor 217.

(Lamp Heating Unit)

A light permeable window 278 is provided above the process chamber 201,that is, at the upper surface of the upper vessel 210. A lamp heatingunit 280 as a lamp heating device is installed to the outside of aprocess vessel 203 over the light permeable window 278. The lamp heatingunit 280 is provided at a position opposing the susceptor 217 andconfigured so as to heat the wafer 200 from above the wafer 200. Thewafer 200 can be heated by lighting up the lamp heating unit 280 in ashorter time than that by the heater 217 b. Further, by the combined useof the lamp heating unit 280 and the heater 217 b, the temperature atthe surface of the substrate can be increased, for example, to 900° C.

(Gas Supply Unit)

A gas supply pipe 232 and a shower head 236 are provided above theprocess chamber 201, that is, in the upper portion of the upper vessel210. The shower head 236 comprises a cap-shaped cover 233, a gasintroduction port 234, a buffer chamber 237, an opening 238, a shieldplate 240, and a gas blowing port 239 and is configured such thatvarious types of gases can be supplied to the process chamber 201. Thebuffer chamber 237 is formed as a dispersion space for dispersing a gasintroduced from the gas introduction port 234.

A hydrogen-containing gas supply pipe 232 a for supplying a hydrogen(H₂) gas as a hydrogen-containing gas, a nitrogen-containing gas supplypipe 232 b for supplying an nitrogen (N₂) gas as a nitrogen-containinggas, an oxygen-containing gas supply pipe 232 c for supplying an oxygen(O₂) gas as an oxygen-containing gas, and an argon gas supply pipe 232 dfor supplying an argon (Ar) gas as an inert gas are joined at theirrespective downstream ends and connected to the gas supply pipe 232.

A H₂ gas supply source 250 a, a mass flow controller 252 a as a flowrate control device, and a valve 253 a as an on-off valve are providedin this order from the upstream to the hydrogen-containing gas supplypipe 232 a. An N₂ gas supply source 250 b, a mass flow controller 252 bas a flow rate control device, and a valve 253 b as an on-off valve areprovided in this order from the upstream to the nitrogen-containing gassupply pipe 232 b. An O₂ gas supply source 250 c, a mass flow controller252 c as a flow rate control device, and a valve 253 c as an on-offvalve are provided in this order from the upstream to theoxygen-containing gas supply pipe 232 c. An Ar gas supply source 250 d,a mass flow controller 252 d as a flow rate control device, and a valve253 d as an on-off valve are provided in this order from the upstream tothe argon gas supply pipe 232 d.

A valve 254 is provided at the downstream of the hydrogen-containing gassupply pipe 232 a, the nitrogen-containing gas supply pipe 232 b, theoxygen-containing gas supply pipe 232 c, and the argon gas supply pipe232 d where they are joined, and the valve is connected by way of agasket 203 b to the upstream end of a gas introduction port 234. Byopening the valves 253 a, 253 b, 253 c, 253 d, and 254, thehydrogen-containing gas, the nitrogen-containing gas, theoxygen-containing gas, and the inert gas can be supplied each alone orin combination into the process chamber 201 by way of the gas supplypipes 232 a, 232 b, 232 c, and 232 d while controlling the flow rate ofeach of the gases by the mass flow controllers 252 a, 252 b, 252 c, and252 d.

As the inert gas, a rare gas such as a helium (He) gas, a neon (Ne) gas,a krypton (Kr) gas, etc. may also be used in addition to the argon gasas the inert gas.

A gas supply unit according to this embodiment mainly comprises theshower head 236 (including the cover 233, the gas introduction port 234,the buffer chamber 237, the opening 238, the shield plate 240, the gasblowing port 239), the hydrogen-containing gas supply pipe 232 a, thenitrogen-containing gas supply pipe 232 b, the oxygen-containing gassupply pipe 232 c, the argon gas supply pipe 232 d, the H₂ gas supplysource 250 a, the N₂ gas supply source 250 b, the O₂ gas supply source250 c, the Ar gas supply source 250 d, the mass flow controllers 252 a,252 b, 252 c, and 252 d, and the valves 253 a, 253 b, 253 c, 253 d, and254.

(Gas Exhaustion Unit)

A gas exhaust chamber 201 a is provided to the side wall of the lowervessel 211 for exhausting the gas from the inside of the process chamber201. The upper stream end of a gas exhaustion pipe 231 a is connected tothe gas exhaust chamber 201 a. As shown in FIG. 3, a diaphragm gauge 241a as a pressure control sensor, for example, a capacitance manometer isprovided to the gas exhaust chamber 201 a. The diaphragm gauge 241 a canmeasure the pressure, for example, up to 2 Torr (266 Pa) as an upperlimit. An APC (Auto Pressure Controller) 242 as a pressure controller(pressure control unit), a turbo molecular pump 246 a as an evacuationdevice, a main valve 243 a as an on-off valve, and a dry pump 246 b asan evacuation device are provided in this order from the upstream to thegas exhaustion pipe 231 a.

The APC 242 is an on-off valve capable of evacuation and stopping ofevacuation by opening and closing the valve and, further, capable ofcontrolling the pressure in the process chamber 201 by controlling theopening degree of the valve based on the pressure information measuredby the diaphragm gauge 241 a. The substrate surface processing using theMMT apparatus 100 is performed under a pressure, for example, of 266 Paor less and, more preferably, 240 Pa or lower. By setting the pressurefor the upper limit of the diaphragm gauge 241 a, for example, to 2 Torr(266 Pa), the measuring accuracy in a pressure region of the substratesurface processing can be improved to obtain high pressurecontrollability and resolution power upon substrate surface processing.

For the turbo molecular pump 246 a, a wide band type pump may be used,for example, and, in this case, it is configured to cope with themaximum pressure of 400 Pa on the upstream side of the turbo molecularpump 246 a, that is, on the primary side of the turbo molecular pump 246a.

A gas exhaustion pipe 231 b that functions also as a slow exhaustionline is provided to the downstream of the turbo molecular pump 246 a,that is, on the secondary side of the turbo molecular pump 246 a.Specifically, the upstream end of the gas exhaustion pipe 231 b isconnected between the turbo molecular pump 246 a and the main valve 243a of the gas exhaustion pipe 231 a. Further, the downstream end of thegas exhaustion pipe 231 b is connected between the main valve 243 a andthe dry pump 246 b of the gas exhaustion pipe 231 a. For the gasexhaustion pipe 231 b, a pipeline, for example, of ⅜ inch is used and aslow exhaust valve 243 b as an on-off valve is provided.

The gas exhaustion unit according to this embodiment mainly comprisesthe gas exhaust chamber 201 a, the diaphragm gauge 241 a, the gasexhaustion pipe 231 a, the APC 242, the turbo molecular pump 246 a, themain valve 243 a, the dry pump 246 b, and the gas exhaustion pipe 231 b,and the slow exhaust valve 243 b.

(Plasma Generation Unit)

To the outer periphery of the process chamber 201, that is, to theoutside of the side wall of the upper vessel 210, a cylindricalelectrode 215 as the first electrode is provided so as to surround theprocess chamber 201. The cylindrical electrode 215 is formed in acylindrical shape, for example, a circular cylindrical shape. Thecylindrical electrode 215 is connected to a high frequency power source273 at a frequency, for example, of 13.56 MHz for applying a highfrequency power by way of a matching device 272 for impedance matching.

An upper magnet 216 a and a lower magnet 216 b are attached respectivelyto the upper and lower ends at the outer surface of the cylindricalelectrode 215. Both of the upper magnet 216 a and lower magnet 216 bcomprise each permanent magnets each formed into a cylindrical shape,for example, a circular cylindrical shape. Each of the upper magnet 216a and the lower magnet 216 b has a magnetic pole on the side of thesurface facing the process chamber 201 and on the side of the surfaceopposite thereto.

The upper magnet 216 a and the lower magnet 216 b are arranged such thatthe direction of the magnetic poles are opposed to each other. That is,magnetic poles of the upper magnet 216 a and the lower magnet 216 b onthe side of the surface facing the process chamber 201 have polaritiesdifferent from each other. Thus, a line of magnetic force in the axialdirection of the cylinder is formed along the inner surface of thecylindrical electrode 215.

The plasma generation unit is configured such that after magnetic fieldsare generated by the upper magnet 216 a and the lower magnet 216 b andafter introducing various types of gases in the process chamber 201, ahigh frequency power is supplied to the cylindrical electrode 215 toform electric fields, thereby generating magnetron discharge plasmas tothe plasma generation region 224 in the process chamber 201 as shown inFIG. 2. Since the electromagnetic fields cause the emitted electrons toconduct circular motion, ionization and generation ratio of plasmas canbe increased to generate long lasting and high density plasmas.

At the periphery of the cylindrical electrode 215, the upper magnet 216a, and the lower magnet 216 b, a metal shielding plate 223 is providedfor effectively shielding electromagnetic fields such that theelectromagnetic fields generated thereby give no undesired effects onother devices or external circumstances.

The plasma generation unit according to this embodiment mainly comprisesthe cylindrical electrode 215, the matching device 272, the highfrequency power source 273, and the upper magnet 216 a and the lowermagnet 216 b.

(Substrate Transporting Port)

Further, a not illustrated substrate transporting chamber port is formedto the outside of the process vessel 203 by way of the gate valve 244.The substrate transporting chamber port is in communication with a notillustrated substrate transport chamber connected to the MMT apparatus100. A not illustrated transporting mechanism is provided to thesubstrate transporting chamber and configured such that the substratecan be loaded into and unloaded from the inside of the process chamber201. The temperature in the substrate transporting chamber is kept, forexample, at a room temperature and the pressure is kept at 0.1 Pa orhigher and 266 Pa or lower, for example, at about 100 Pa. Thus, evenwhen particles are generated in the substrate transporting chamber,scattering of the particles by the loading or unloading operation of thesubstrate by the transporting mechanism can be suppressed.

(Control Unit)

The control unit (controller) 121 controls the diaphragm gauge 241 a,the APC 242, the turbo molecular pump 246 a, dry pump 246 b, the mainvalve 243 a, and the slow exhaust valve 243 b by way of a signal line A,the susceptor lifting mechanism 268 by way of a signal line B, theheater 217 b and the variable impedance mechanism 274 by way of a signalline C, the gate valve 244 by way of an signal line D, the matchingdevice 272 and the high frequency power source 273 by way of a signalline E, the mass flow controllers 252 a, 252 b, and the valves 253 a,253 b, and 254 by way of a signal line F, and the lamp heating unit 280by way of a signal line G, respectively.

(2) Substrate Processing Step

Then, a substrate processing step according to the first embodiment isto be described. The substrate processing step according to the firstembodiment is performed as one of the manufacturing steps of thesemiconductor device, for example, by the MMT apparatus 100. In thesubstrate processing step according to the first embodiment, thetemperature of the wafer 200 is elevated on the side of the susceptor217 by the heater 217 b as a heating unit incorporated in the susceptor217 as a second substrate support unit. Further, while heating the wafer200, a predetermined substrate surface processing, for example,nitridation is applied to the wafer 200 formed, for example, of silicon(Si). In the following description, the operation of each of the unitsforming the MMT apparatus 100 is controlled by the controller 121.

(Substrate Loading Step)

At first, the pressure in the process chamber 201 is set to a pressure,for example, of 100 Pa identical with that in the substrate transportingchamber (not illustrated) which is adjacent with the process chamber201, and the wafer 200 is loaded from the substrate transporting chamberto the process chamber 201. Specifically, the inside of the processchamber 201 is evacuated by using the turbo molecular pump 246 a and thedry pump 246 b and, a gas, for example an inert gas, giving no undesiredeffects on the wafer 200 or the substrate surface processing applied tothe wafer 200 is supplied to the process chamber 201 to control thepressure inside the process chamber 201 to a pressure about identicalwith that in the substrate transporting chamber.

Then, the susceptor 217 is lowered as far as the transporting positionof the wafer 200 and the wafer projection pins 266 are passed throughthe through holes 217 a of the susceptor 217. As a result, the waferprojection pins 266 are put to a state of protruding from the uppersurface of the susceptor 217 by a predetermined height, for example,about from 0.5 mm to 3.0 mm.

Successively, the gate valve 244 is opened and the wafer 200 is loadedfrom the substrate transporting chamber into the process chamber 201 byusing a transporting mechanism not illustrated in the drawing. As aresult, the wafer 200 is supported in a horizontal state on the waferprojection pin 266 protruding from the upper surface of the susceptor217. After loading the wafer 200 into the process chamber 201, thetransporting mechanism is retracted to the outside of the processchamber 201 and the gate valve 244 is closed to tightly seal the insideof the process chamber 201.

An electric power is supplied previously to the heater 217 b, and theheater 217 b and the susceptor 217 are heated to a predeterminedtemperature within a range, for example, of 25° C. or higher and 700° C.or lower, and 900° C. or lower in a case of using the lamp heating unit280 together. Then, if the loaded wafer 200 is directly transferred overthe susceptor 217, the contact surface of the wafer 200 with thesusceptor 217 is heated more easily to result in the difference of thetemperature elevation rate with respect to the surface on the oppositeside of the wafer 200. As a result, the temperature uniformity of thewafer 200 may possibly be deteriorated. Deterioration of the temperatureuniformity of the wafer 200 tends to occur, for example, at 700° C. orhigher.

Then, in this embodiment, the following substrate temperature elevationstep is performed before transferring the wafer 200 to the susceptor217. That is, the present inventors, et al. have thought out asdescribed below to support the wafer 200 while spacing apart from thesusceptor 217 by the wafer projection pins 266 and elevate thetemperature of the wafer 200 gradually while keeping satisfactorytemperature uniformity of the wafer 200 by the heat radiation from thesusceptor 217. However, there may be a possibility in such a method totake a long time for elevating the temperature of the wafer 200 to apredetermined temperature.

Accordingly, the present inventors made further studies for rapidlyelevating the temperature of the wafer 200. Description is to be made toa method of rapidly elevating the temperature of the wafer 200 whileimproving the temperature uniformity of the wafer 200 based on thefindings obtained by the present inventors, et al. from the results ofthe studies.

(Substrate Temperature Elevation Step)

In the substrate temperature elevation step, the temperature of thewafer 200 loaded into the process chamber 201 is elevated. Specifically,the wafer 200 is supported being spaced apart from the susceptor 217 bythe wafer projection pins 266 above the susceptor 217 heated to apredetermined temperature within a range, for example, of 25° C. orhigher and 700° C. or lower by the heater 217 b (900° C. or lower in acase of using the lamp heating unit 280 together). The temperature ofthe susceptor 217 in the substrate temperature elevation step ismaintained at least till the end of the plasma processing step to bedescribed later.

For example, an N₂ gas as a pressure elevation gas is supplied to theprocess chamber 201 to increase the pressure in the process chamber 201,while exhausting the gas inside of the process chamber 201 by the turbomolecular pump 246 a and the dry pump 246 b by way of the gas exhaustionpipe 231 a. Specifically, the N₂ gas is supplied by way of the bufferchamber 237 to the process chamber 201 by opening the valves 253 b and254 while controlling the flow rate by the mass flow controller 252 b.In this step, the flow rate of the N₂ gas is set to a predeterminedvalue within a range, for example, of 1000 sccm or more and 2000 sccm orless. Thus, the pressure in the process chamber 201 is controlled to apredetermined value higher than the pressure in the substrate loadingstep within a range, for example, of 100 Pa or more and 266 Pa or less.The turbo molecular pump 246 a and the dry pump 246 b are kept operatedat least to the completion of the substrate unloading step to bedescribed later.

The temperature of the wafer 200 is gradually elevated from the surfaceon the side of the susceptor 217 by the radiation of heat from thesusceptor 217 by keeping the state described above for a predeterminedtime, for example, from 40 sec to 60 sec. In this case, since the wafer200 is supported being spaced apart from the susceptor 217, abrupttemperature elevation at the surface on the side of the susceptor 217 ofthe wafer 200 can be suppressed to decrease the difference of thetemperature elevation rate between the surface on the side of thesusceptor 217 (hereinafter also referred to as a lower surface) and thesurface on the opposite side (hereinafter also referred to as the uppersurface) of the wafer 200 and improve the temperature uniformity of thewafer 200.

Further, as described above, the inside of the process chamber 201 isfilled with the N₂ gas. Thus, heat is conducted from the susceptor 217to the wafer 200 by the N₂ gas present between the susceptor 217 and thewafer 200. That is, since the wafer 200 is heated also by the heatconduction of the N₂ gas in addition to the radiation of heat from thesusceptor 217, the temperature elevation rate of the wafer 200 can beimproved.

Further, the distance between the wafer 200 and the susceptor 217 ispreferably controlled depending on the difference of the temperature ofthe wafer 200 (for example, normal temperature) and the temperature ofthe susceptor 217 (temperature heated to a predetermined level by theheater 217 b) upon loading. That is, when the difference between thetemperature of the wafer 200 and the temperature of the susceptor 217 islarge, the distance between the wafer 200 and the susceptor 217 is madelarger thereby suppressing the generation of the difference in thetemperature elevation rate relative to the upper surface of the wafer200 due to abrupt temperature elevation of the lower surface of the 200.Further, when the difference between the temperature of the wafer 200and the temperature of the susceptor 217 is small, the distance betweenthe wafer 200 and the susceptor 217 is made smaller thereby capable ofaccelerating the temperature elevation of the wafer 200 to shorten thetime till the wafer 200 reaches a predetermined temperature. Thedistance between the wafer 200 and the susceptor 217 can be controlled,for example, by the lifting of the susceptor 217 by a susceptor liftingmechanism 268.

Further, the distance between the wafer 200 and the susceptor 217 ispreferably controlled not only by the temperature difference between thewafer 200 and the susceptor 217 but also according to the type of thegas supplied to the process chamber 201 (N₂ gas in this embodiment), thegas flow rate, the pressure in the process chamber 201, etc. This cansuppress abrupt temperature elevation of the lower surface of the wafer200, or accelerate the temperature elevation of the wafer 200.

(Substrate Transferring Step)

After lapse of a predetermined time, the wafer 200 heated to apredetermined temperature is transferred from the wafer projection pins266 to the susceptor 217. That is, the susceptor 217 is lifted by usingthe susceptor lifting mechanism 268 and the wafer is supported on theupper surface of the susceptor 217. Then, the wafer 200 is lifted to apredetermined processing position.

(Processing Gas Supplying Step)

Then, an N₂ gas is supplied as a processing gas to the process chamber201. In this embodiment, since the N₂ gas used, for example, as thepressure elevation gas is used also as the processing gas for processingthe surface of the substrate, the N₂ gas can be supplied by keeping thesupply of the N₂ gas to the process chamber 201 continuously which hasbeen started in the substrate temperature elevation step describedabove. In this state, the flow rate of the N₂ gas as the processing gasand the pressure in the process chamber 201 are set to predeterminedvalues for substrate processing by the control of the mass flowcontroller 252 b and the APC 242 again. That is, the flow rate of the N₂gas is controlled to a predetermined value within a range, for example,of 100 sccm or more and 500 sccm or less. Further, the gas inside of theprocess chamber 201 is exhausted by controlling the opening degree ofthe APC 242 such that the pressure in the process chamber 201 is at apredetermined pressure within a range, for example, of 1 Pa or more and266 Pa or less. As described above, supply of the N₂ gas is furthercontinued till the completion of the plasma processing step to bedescribed later while properly exhausting gas the inside of the processchamber 201.

(Plasma Processing Step)

When the pressure in the process chamber 201 is settled, application ofa high frequency power at a predetermined output value within a range,for example, of 150 W or higher and 1000 W or lower is started to thecylindrical electrode 215 from the high frequency power source 273 byway of the matching device 272. In this step, the variable impedancemechanism 274 is previously controlled to a predetermined impedancevalue. Thus, plasma discharge is caused in the process chamber 201, morespecifically, in the plasma generation region 224 above the wafer 200 toexcite the N₂ gas. The N₂ gas is, for example, ionized and dissociatedinto plasmas to generate reaction species such as active nitrogenspecies including nitrogen (N). Nitridation is applied to the surface ofthe wafer 200 by the active nitrogen species formed by the excitation ofthe N₂ gas.

As described above, the temperature of the susceptor 217 in the step ofelevating the temperature of the substrate is maintained also in theplasma processing step to heat the wafer 200. The plasma processing stepis a step of processing surface of the substrate of heating andprocessing the substrate.

Subsequently, after lapse of a predetermined processing time,application of the power from the high frequency power source 273 isinterrupted to stop the plasma discharge in the process chamber 201.Further, the valves 253 b and 254 are closed to stop the supply of theN₂ gas to the process chamber 201. With the procedures described above,the plasma processing step is completed.

(Exhausting Step)

When the supply of the N₂ gas is stopped, the gas inside of the processchamber 201 is exhausted by using the gas exhaustion pipe 231 a. Thus,the N₂ gas and the gas such as the active nitrogen species in theprocess chamber 201 are exhausted to the outside of the process chamber201. Then, the valves 253 b and 254 are opened and the N₂ gas issupplied to the process chamber 201 while controlling the flow rate bythe mass flow controller 252 b. Further, the opening degree of the APC242 is controlled thereby controlling the pressure in the processchamber 201 to a pressure (for example 100 Pa) identical with thepressure in the substrate transport chamber (not illustrated, to whichthe wafer 200 is unloaded) adjacent to the process chamber 201.

(Substrate Unloading Step)

When the pressure in the process chamber 201 reaches a predeterminedlevel, the susceptor 217 is lowered to the transporting position of thewafer 200 and the wafer 200 is supported on the wafer projection pins266. Then, the gate valve 244 is opened and the wafer 200 is unloaded tothe outside of the process chamber 201 by using the transportingmechanism not illustrated in the drawing. With the procedures describedabove, the substrate processing step according to this embodiment iscompleted.

When the N₂ gas is supplied to increase the pressure in the processchamber 201 in the step of elevating the temperature of the substratedescribed above, the N₂ gas may be sealed in the process chamber 201while putting the inside of the process chamber 201 in a tightly closedstate. That is the pressure in the process chamber 201 may also beincreased by stopping exhaustion from the inside of the process chamber201 by closing the APC 242 while supplying the N₂ gas into the processchamber 201. Thus, the pressure elevation rate in the process chamber201 can be increased and the temperature elevation rate of the wafer 200can be increased. Further, the pressure control time from the step ofelevating the temperature of the substrate to the step of processing thesubstrate surface (plasma processing step) can be shortened by definingthe upper limit of the pressure to 266 Pa so that the pressure in thesubstrate temperature elevation step does not greatly deviate from thepressure during substrate surface processing.

Further, when the N₂ gas is supplied to the process chamber 201 in thesubstrate temperature elevation step, the position for supplying the N₂gas, etc. may be different from the position described above. Forexample, a nozzle is provided to the side wall of the lower vessel 211installed to the process furnace 202, and the N₂ gas, etc. are suppliedby way of the nozzle near the transporting position of the wafer 200when the susceptor 217 is lowered, more specifically, at a positionbetween the wafer 200 supported on the wafer projection pins 266 and thesusceptor 217. Thus, a portion of the N₂ gas that receives the heat fromthe susceptor 217 on the side of the lower surface of the wafer 200 goesaround to the upper surface of the wafer 200 to promote heat conductionto the side of the upper surface. As described above, the temperatureelevation rate of the wafer 200 can be increased also by the convectionof the N₂ gas, etc.

(3) Effect According to the First Embodiment

The first embodiment provides one or plural effects shown below.

(a) The first embodiment has a substrate temperature elevation step ofelevating the temperature of the wafer 200 loaded in the process chamber201. That is, in the substrate temperature elevation step, the wafer 200loaded into the process chamber 201 is supported above the susceptor 217installed in the process chamber 201 being spaced apart from thesusceptor 217 by the wafer projection pins 226, and the temperature ofthe wafer 200 is elevated by the heater 217 b by way of the susceptor217. Thus, difference in the temperature elevation rate is decreasedbetween the surface of the wafer 200 on the side of the susceptor 217(lower surface) and the surface on the opposite side (upper surface) andthe temperature uniformity of the wafer 200 can be improved.

(b) Further, according to the first embodiment, in the substratetemperature elevation step, the temperature of the wafer 200 is elevatedin a state of supplying the N₂ gas by the gas supply unit to the insideof the process chamber 201 and increasing the pressure in the processchamber 200 to higher than the pressure in the substrate loading step.Or, in the substrate temperature elevation step, the temperature of thewafer 200 is elevated in a state of increasing the pressure in theprocess chamber 200 to higher than the pressure in the plasma processingstep. Thus, heat is conducted from the susceptor 217 to the wafer 200also by the N₂ gas present between the susceptor 217 and the wafer 200in addition to the heat radiation from the susceptor 217 and thetemperature of the wafer 200 can be elevated rapidly by improving thetemperature elevation rate of the wafer 200.

(c) The configuration of temporarily supporting the wafer 200 whilebeing spaced apart from the susceptor 217 in the first embodiment can beapplied by merely changing the timing for a portion of the sequence ofloading the wafer 200 into the process chamber 201 and positioning thewafer to the processing position. This scarcely gives undesired effectson the subsequent plasma processing step.

(d) Further, the first embodiment can control the distance between thewafer 200 supported on the wafer projection pins 266 and the susceptor217 also depending on the difference between the temperature of thewafer 200 and the temperature of the susceptor 217 (temperature heatedto a predetermined temperature by the heater 217 b) during loading ofthe wafer. Thus, when the temperature difference between both of them islarge, the difference of the temperature elevation rate between thelower surface and the upper surface of the wafer 200 can be decreased bymaking the distance larger. Further, the time required for temperatureelevation of the wafer 200 can be shortened when the temperaturedifference is small by making the distance smaller.

(e) Further, the first embodiment can control the distance between thewafer supported on the wafer projection pins 266 and the susceptor 217also depending on the kind of the gas supplied to the process chamber201, the gas flow rate, the pressure in the process chamber 201, etc. inthe substrate temperature elevation step. This can suppress abrupttemperature elevation at the lower surface of the wafer 200 or shortenthe temperature elevation time for the wafer 200.

(f) Further, when the N₂ gas is supplied in the substrate temperatureelevation step, the first embodiment can supply the N₂ gas, etc. by wayof the nozzle also between the wafer supported on the wafer projectionpins 266 and the susceptor 217. Then, a portion of the N₂ gas on theside of the lower surface of the wafer 200 that receives heat from thesusceptor 217 goes around to the upper surface of the wafer 200 topromote heat conduction and improve the temperature elevation rate ofthe wafer 200 thereby capable of shortening the temperature elevationtime.

(g) Further, according to the first embodiment, the temperatureuniformity of the wafer 200 can be improved. Accordingly, the effect ofreducing the warp of the wafer 200 caused by the difference of thethermal expansion between the upper and the lower surfaces of the wafer200 can also be expected. The warp of the wafer 200 tends to occur, forexample, when the temperature of the wafer 200 increases to 700 C. orhigher.

Second Embodiment

For the first embodiment, description has been made to a case ofelevating the temperature of the wafer 200 by the heat radiation fromthe susceptor 217 and the heat conduction of the N₂ gas in a state wherethe wafer 200 is supported being spaced apart from the susceptor 217 bythe wafer projection pins 266, and the inside of the process chamber 201is filled with the N₂ gas to increase the pressure. In such anembodiment, it is considered that as the pressure in the process chamber201 increases, the temperature elevation rate by heat conduction isimproved more. However, in the MMT apparatus 100 according to theembodiment, the upper limit of the pressure of the diaphragm gauge 241 aadjusted to the pressure region upon substrate surface processing (forexample, plasma processing) was the upper limit value (for example 266Pa) for the usable pressure.

Then in the second embodiment of the invention, description is to bemade to an MMT apparatus and a substrate processing step using the MMTapparatus capable of performing a substrate temperature elevation stepin a further high pressure region so as to further shorten the timerequired for the temperature elevation of the wafer 200 without loweringthe measurement accuracy for the pressure region in the substratesurface processing.

(1) Configuration of Substrate Processing Apparatus

The MMT apparatus according to the second embodiment is different fromthe first embodiment in view of the configuration of the gas exhaustionunit. Since other configurations are identical with those of the MMTapparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1, description therefor is omitted and theconfiguration of the gas exhaustion unit is to be described withreference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing anexample of a gas exhaustion unit provided to an MMT apparatus accordingto the second embodiment and FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing anotherexample of a gas exhaustion unit provided to the MMT apparatus accordingto the second embodiment. In FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, components identicalwith those of FIG. 3 for the first embodiment carry the same referencenumerals for which description is to be omitted.

In a gas exhaust chamber 201 a of a gas exhaustion unit shown in FIG. 4,a diaphragm gauge 241 b as a pressure control sensor such as, forexample, a capacitance manometer is provided in addition to a diaphragmgauge 241 a. The diaphragm gauge 241 b is configured such that it canmeasure, for example, up to 10 Torr (1330 Pa) as the upper limitpressure. Thus, the pressure in the process chamber 201 can beincreased, for example, to about 400 Pa as the maximum pressure that canbe coped with by the turbo molecular pump 246 a by adjusting the valveopening degree of the APC 242 based on the pressure information measuredin the diaphragm gauge 241 b.

Also in the gas exhaustion unit in FIG. 5, a diaphragm gauge 241 b isprovided to the gas exhaust chamber 201 a. Further, in the gasexhaustion unit shown in FIG. 5, a slow exhaustion line has a structureof by passing the turbo molecular pump 246 a. That is, a shut-off valve243 c is provided as an on-off valve between an APC 242 and the turbomolecular pump 246 a in the gas exhaustion pipe 231 a connected at theupstream end to the gas exhaust chamber 201 a. The upstream end of thegas exhaustion pipe 231 c of the slow exhaustion line is connectedbetween the APC 242 and the shut-off valve 243 c of the gas exhaustionpipe 231 a, and the downstream end of the gas exhaustion pipe 231 c isconnected between the main valve 243 a and the dry pump 246 b of the gasexhaustion pipe 231 a. This configuration can increase the pressure inthe process chamber 201, for example, to about 10 Torr (1330 Pa) as theupper limit pressure of the diaphragm gauge 241 b irrespective of thepressure that can be coped with by the turbo molecular pump 246 a. Thatis, by controlling the valve opening degree of the APC 242 based on thepressure information measured by the diaphragm gauge 241 b in a state ofclosing the shut-off valve 243 c and opening the slow exhaust valve 243b, pressure in the process chamber 201 can be controlled to a highpressure without exposing the turbo molecular pump 246 a to a highpressure. Since the gas exhaustion pipe 231 c of the slow exhaustionline has an exhaustion conductance, for example, comparable with that ofa ⅜ inch pipeline, it can cope with even a high pressure of 400 Pa orhigher.

(2) Substrate Processing Step

The substrate processing step according to the second embodiment isperformed by the MMT apparatus having the gas exhaustion unit shown inFIG. 4 or FIG. 5 as a manufacturing step of the semiconductor device.Also in the substrate processing step according to the secondembodiment, while nitridation by the N₂ gas is performed in the samemanner as in the first embodiment, the substrate processing stepaccording to the second embodiment is different from the firstembodiment mainly for the substrate temperature elevation step. Thedifference is to be described below. In the following description, it isassumed that the MMT apparatus has the gas exhaustion unit of FIG. 5.Further, operation of each of the units constituting the MMT apparatusaccording to the second embodiment is controlled by the controlleridentical with the controller 121 in FIG. 1.

(Substrate Temperature Elevation Step)

A temperature elevation step is performed to the wafer 200 loaded intothe process chamber 201 in the substrate loading step. That is, in thesame procedures as in the first embodiment, the wafer 200 is supportedover the susceptor 217 heated to a predetermined temperature by theheater 217 b within a range, for example, of 25° C. or higher and 700°C. or lower (900° C. or lower in a case of using the lamp heating unit280 together) while being spaced apart from the susceptor 217. Forexample, an N₂ gas as the pressure elevation gas is supplied in theprocess chamber 201 to increase the pressure in the process chamber 201to higher than the pressure, for example, in the substrate loading step.Specifically, the N₂ gas is supplied by way of the buffer chamber 237into the process chamber 201 by opening the valves 253 b and 254 whilecontrolling the flow rate by the mass flow controller 252 b. In thisstep, the flow rate of the N₂ gas is controlled to a predetermined valuewithin a range, for example, of 1000 sccm or more and 2000 sccm or less.Further, the pressure in the process chamber 201 is controlled to apredetermined pressure within a range, for example, of 240 Pa or higherand 1000 Pa or lower, more preferably, 400 Pa or higher and 1000 Pa orlower. Specifically, the opening degree of the APC 242 is controlledbased on the pressure information measured by the diaphragm gauge 241 bin a state of closing the shut-off valve 243 c and opening the slowexhaust valve 243 b to exhaust the inside of the process chamber 201.

Thus, the inside of the process chamber 201 is filled with the N₂ gas.By keeping the state for a predetermined time, for example, of 40 sec to60 sec, heat is conducted from the susceptor 217 to the wafer 200 by theN₂ gas present between the susceptor 217 and the wafer 200. That is,since the wafer 200 is heated also by heat conduction of the N₂ gas inaddition to the heat radiation from the susceptor 217, the temperatureelevation rate of the wafer 200 can be improved.

Further, the distance between the wafer 200 supported on the waferprojection pins 266 and the susceptor 217 can be controlled depending,for example, on the temperature difference between the wafer 200 and thesusceptor 217 upon loading of the substrate, the type of the gas (N₂ gasin this embodiment), the flow rate of the gas supplied in the processchamber 201, the gas flow rate, the pressure in the process chamber 201,etc. Thus, the abrupt temperature elevation at the lower surface of thewafer 200 can be suppressed or the temperature elevation of the wafer200 can be accelerated.

(Substrate Transferring Step)

After lapse of a predetermined time, the wafer 200 is transferred ontothe susceptor 217 and lifted to a predetermined processing position bythe same procedures as in the substrate transfer step according to thefirst embodiment.

(Processing Gas Supplying Step)

In the second embodiment, supply of the N₂ gas to the process chamber201 started, for example, in the substrate temperature elevation step iscontinued. In this state, the flow rate of the N₂ gas as the processinggas and the pressure in the process chamber 201 in the substrate surfaceprocessing are controlled to predetermined values in the same manner,for example, as in the processing gas supplying step according to thefirst embodiment by re-adjustment of the mass flow control 252 b and theAPC 242.

Pressure control by the APC 242 is performed based on the pressureinformation measured by the diaphragm gauge 241 a. Thus, the pressureupon substrate surface processing (for example, plasma processing)performed under a pressure, for example, of 266 Pa or lower, morepreferably, 240 Pa or lower can be controlled accurately. As describedabove, the pressure in the process chamber 201 can be measured andcontrolled at a good accuracy by using the respective diaphragms gauges241 a and 241 b selectively according to the control pressure in each ofthe steps (substrate temperature elevation step and substrate surfaceprocessing step).

Further, when controlling the pressure in the process chamber 201 to apredetermined value, exhaustion of the gas in the process chamber 201 iscontinued by way of the gas exhaustion pipe 231 c as the slow exhaustionline in a state of closing the shut-off valve 243 c and opening the slowexhaust valve 243 b so that the turbo molecular pump 246 a is notexposed to a high pressure till the pressure in the process chamber 201is lowered, for example, to about 400 Pa. After the pressure in theprocess chamber 201 is lowered to 400 Pa or lower, the gas inside of theprocess chamber 201 is exhausted by way of the turbo molecular pump 246a by closing the slow exhaust valve 243 b and opening the shut-off valve243 c.

The substrate processing step by the MMT apparatus provided with the gasexhaustion unit in FIG. 5 has been explained as described above.

The method of using the nozzle provided on the side wall of the lowervessel 211 for the supply of the N₂ gas, etc. or the method ofincreasing the pressure in the process chamber 201 by sealing the N₂ gasin the process chamber 201 in the substrate temperature elevation stepdescribed for the first embodiment can be applied also in the secondembodiment. In a case of sealing the N₂ gas, the upper limit pressurecan be increased as far as 1000 Pa in the second embodiment.

Further, when the MMT apparatus has the gas exhaustion unit shown inFIG. 4, the pressure in the process chamber 201 in the temperatureelevation step can be controlled, for example, to 1 Pa or higher and 400Pa or lower with the pressure that can be coped with by the turbomolecular pump 246 a being as the upper limit.

(3) Effect According to the Second Embodiment

Also the second embodiment provides the same effects as in the firstembodiment.

(a) Further, according to the second embodiment, the pressure in theprocess chamber 200 is increased to 240 Pa or higher and 1,000 Pa orlower, preferably, 400 Pa or higher and 1,000 Pa or lower in thesubstrate temperature elevation step. This can further promote heattransmission with the N₂ gas from the susceptor 217 to the wafer 200 andfurther improve temperature elevation rate of the wafer 200 to shortenthe temperature elevation time.

(b) Further, according to the second embodiment, the gas exhaustion unitcomprises the diaphragm gauge 241 a having the upper limit of 2 Torr(266 Pa) for the measurement of pressure, and the diaphragm gauge 241 bhaving the upper limit of 10 Torr (1330 Pa) for the measurement ofpressure. Further, in the processing gas supply step, the plasmaprocessing step, etc., pressure in the processing chamber 201 iscontrolled based on the pressure information of the diaphragm gauge 241a, and the pressure in the process chamber 201 is controlled based onthe pressure information of the diaphragm gauge 241 b in the substratetemperature elevation step. This can maintain the accuracy for thecontrolled pressure during the processing gas supplying step or thesubstrate surface processing step (for example, plasma processing), andincrease the pressure in the process chamber 201 in the substratetemperature elevation step to higher than the pressure during theprocess gas supply or the substrate surface processing.

(c) Further, according to the second embodiment, the gas exhaustion unitcomprises a slow exhaustion line of a structure that bypasses the turbomolecular 246 a. This can increase the pressure in the process chamber201 to the upper limit pressure of the diaphragm gauge 241 b which isfurther higher than the pressure that can be coped with by the turbomolecular pump 246 a in the substrate temperature elevation step.Accordingly, the temperature of the wafer 200 can be elevated at ahigher rate.

Third Embodiment

In the first and the second embodiments, description has been made to acase of elevating the temperature of the wafer 200 by using the heater217 b buried in the susceptor 217 as the heating unit. However,according to such a method, the temperature of the wafer 200 is elevatedby heating the wafer mainly on the side of the lower surface of thewafer 200 and it may be considered such a case that the difference ofthe temperature elevation rate between the lower surface and the uppersurface of the wafer 200 cannot be decreased sufficiently.

Further, as the first and second embodiments, when the N₂ gas, etc. areblown out of the shower head 236 above the wafer 200 and supplied to theprocess chamber 201, if the temperature of the supplied N₂ gas, etc. is,for example, relatively low, it may be considered a case where the N₂gas etc. directly hit on the upper surface of the wafer 200 to cool theupper surface of the wafer 200 thereby weakening the effect ofdecreasing the difference of the temperature elevation rate with respectto the lower surface of the wafer 200.

Then, the present inventors have made further studies for enhancing theeffect of decreasing the difference of the temperature elevation ratebetween the upper surface and the lower surface of the wafer 200. Amethod of further decreasing the difference of the temperature elevationrate between the lower surface and the upper surface of the wafer 200and further improving the temperature uniformity of the wafer 200 is tobe described based on the finding obtained from the result of the studyby the present inventors with reference to the third embodiment of thepresent invention.

(1) Substrate Processing Step

Also in the substrate processing step according to the third embodiment,nitridation with the N₂ gas is performed by using the MMT apparatus ofthe second embodiment having the gas exhaustion unit shown in FIG. 5.Description is to be made mainly for the substrate temperature elevationstep different from the second embodiment.

(Substrate Temperature Elevation Step)

In the same procedures as those in the second embodiment, the wafer 200is supported above the susceptor 217 heated to a predeterminedtemperature, for example, by the heater 217 b within a range of 25° C.or higher and 700° C. or lower (900° C. or lower in a case of using thelamp heating unit 280 together), which being spaced apart from thesusceptor 217. Further, a gas giving no undesired effect on the wafer200 or the substrate surface processing applied to the wafer 200, or aninert gas, for example, an N₂ gas, a helium (He) gas, an argon (Ar) gas,a krypton (Kr) gas, a xenon (Xe) gas, etc. is supplied by way of thebuffer chamber 237 to the process chamber 201 by opening the valves 253b and 254 and controlling the flow rate by the mass flow controller 252b. Assuming that the N₂ gas is used, for example, the flow rate of theN₂ gas can be controlled to a predetermined value within a range, forexample, of 1000 sccm or higher and 2000 sccm or lower. Further,pressure in the process chamber 201 is controlled to a predeterminedpressure within a range, for example, of 240 Pa or higher and 1000 Pa orlower and, more preferably, 400 Pa or higher and 1000 Pa or lower.

Then, when the pressure in the process chamber 201 is settled,application of a high frequency power at a predetermined output value ina range, for example, of 150 W or more and 1000 W or less is started tothe cylindrical electrode 215 from the high frequency power source 273by way of the matching device 272. In this case, the variable impedancemechanism 274 is previously controlled to a predetermined impedancevalue. Thus, plasma discharge is caused in the process chamber 201, morespecifically, in the plasma generation region 224 above the wafer 200.

As described above, by exciting the inert gas, etc. to generate plasmasabove the wafer 200, heat from the plasmas is conducted to the wafer 200and the wafer 200 is heated also on the side of the upper surface. Thiscan elevate the temperature of the wafer 200 by heating the wafer fromboth surfaces using the heater 217 b below the lower surface of thewafer 200 and the plasmas above the upper surface of the wafer 200 asthe heat source. Therefore, difference of the temperature elevation ratebetween the lower surface and the upper surface of the wafer 200 can bedecreased further.

Further, upon application of the high frequency power, temperature ofthe wafer 200 is increased rapidly. Accordingly, the temperatureelevation time of the wafer 200 can be shortened further compared withthe case of supplying the gas without ionization into plasmas as in thesecond embodiment.

The wafer 200 is exposed, for example, to atmospheric air before loadinginto the process chamber 201 and a spontaneous oxide film (SiO₂ film) issometimes formed previously to the surface of the wafer 200. In such acase, an H₂ gas as a hydrogen-containing gas may also be introducedinstead of the N₂ gas into the process chamber 201 and excited in thesubstrate temperature elevation step. For example, the H₂ gas is ionizedinto plasmas and dissociated to form reaction species such as hydrogen(H) containing active hydrogen species. The spontaneous oxide film atthe surface of the wafer 200 can be etched by the thus formed activehydrogen species, etc. to remove at least a portion thereof. The etchingrate by the H₂ gas plasmas for the spontaneous oxide film is increasedmore as the temperature of the wafer 200 is higher, that is, as thetemperature of the heater 217 b is previously set higher. Further, theetching rate is increased also by increasing the high frequency powerapplied to the cylindrical electrode 215. As described above, bypreviously removing the spontaneous oxide film on the surface of thewafer 200, the nitridation rate and the nitridation concentration in theplasma processing step can be improved.

Further, an uneven pattern is sometimes formed on the surface of thewafer 200 and, further, the spontaneous oxide film (SiO₂) is sometimesformed substantially over the entire surface. In such a case, thecapacitance between the wafer 200 and the impedance control electrode217 c can be decreased by increasing the protruding height of theprojection pins 266 in the substrate temperature elevation step. Whenthe capacitance is decreased, the amount of drawing the plasmas can bedecreased by lowering the bias potential of the wafer 200. And the oxideremoval rate for the bottom of the concave portion and the upper surfaceof the convex portion relative to the oxide removal rate on the lateralside of the uneven pattern at the surface of the wafer 200 can besuppressed to uniformly remove the spontaneous oxide film formed on thebottom and the upper surface of the uneven pattern and the spontaneousoxide film formed on the lateral side of the uneven pattern.Accordingly, even when the uneven pattern is formed on the surface ofthe wafer 200, the effect due to the spontaneous oxide film can bedecreased and the nitridation rate and the nitridation concentration inthe plasma processing step can be improved.

In the substrate temperature elevation step, the plasma discharge in theprocess chamber 201 is stopped after lapse of a predetermined time, forexample, of 40 sec to 60 sec and the supply of the H₂ gas is stopped.The plasma discharge may be stopped after the application of the highfrequency power at the instance the effect of decreasing the differenceof the temperature elevation rate or shortening of the temperatureelevation time is obtained and it is not always necessary to maintainthe plasma discharge over the entire period of the temperature elevationstep.

As described above, in the third embodiment, also the plasma generationunit provides a function as the heating unit.

(Substrate Transferring Step)

After lapse of a predetermined time, the wafer 200 is transferred to thesusceptor 217 and lifted to a predetermined position for the substratesurface processing by the same procedures as those of the substratetransfer step according to the second embodiment. Further, gases such asthe H₂ gas and the active hydrogen species after the reaction of the H₂gas in the process chamber 201 are exhausted to the outside of theprocess chamber 201. This can suppress the H₂ gas, etc. from remainingin the process chamber 201 and giving undesired effects on thesubsequent step.

The difference of the substrate processing step according to the thirdembodiment from the second embodiment has been described.

As the method of decreasing the difference of the temperature elevationrate between the lower surface and the upper surface of the wafer 200 byheating the wafer 200 on the side of the upper surface thereof, othermethod than that using the plasmas may also be considered. For example,a gas heated to a predetermined temperature is jetted out from theshower head 236 above the wafer 200 and supplied to the process chamber201. Then, the wafer 200 can be heated from the upper surface. Accordingto this method, since the inside of the process chamber 201 is filledwith the gas at the predetermined temperature to make the temperature atthe periphery of the wafer 200 substantially constant and heatdissipation from the outer periphery of the wafer 200 is suppressed.This can also decrease the difference in the temperature elevation ratewithin the plane of the wafer 200. Accordingly, the temperatureuniformity of the wafer 200 can be improved further. As described above,the gas supply unit also serves as the heating unit in theconfiguration.

Further, the wafer 200 is heated from above the wafer 200 also by usingthe lamp heating unit 280 as the lamp heating device described so farand this provides an effect of decreasing the difference of thetemperature elevation rate between the lower surface and the uppersurface of the wafer 200. With the view point described above, it can besaid that the lamp heating unit 280 also serves as the heating unit.

(2) Effects According to the Third Embodiment

Also the third embodiment provides the same effects as those of thesecond embodiment.

(a) Further, when the temperature of the wafer 200 supported on thewafer projection pins 266 is elevated in the substrate temperatureelevation step, the third embodiment supplies a gas giving no undesiredeffects on the substrate surface processing or an inert gas to theprocess chamber 201 by the gas supply unit. The supplied gas is excitedby the plasma generation unit to generate plasmas above the wafer 200.This can elevate the temperature of the wafer 200 by heating using theheater 217 b on the lower surface of the waver 200 and the plasma on theupper surface of the wafer 200 as the heat source. Accordingly, thedifference of the temperature elevation rate between the upper surfaceand the lower surface of the wafer 200 can be decreased more to furtherimprove the temperature uniformity of the wafer 200.

(b) Further, the third embodiment applies a high frequency power in thesubstrate temperature elevation step to ionize the gas giving noundesired effects on the substrate surface processing or the inert gasinto plasmas. This can rapidly increase the temperature of the wafer 200upon application of the high frequency power. Accordingly, thetemperature of the wafer 200 can be elevated at a higher rate than thatin the case of supplying the gas with no ionization into plasmas.

(c) Further, according to the third embodiment, a configuration ofexciting and ionizing the H₂ gas into plasmas can be adopted in thesubstrate temperature elevation step. This can remove the spontaneousoxide film formed on the surface of the wafer 200 to improve thenitridation rate and the nitridation density in the plasma processingstep.

FIG. 7 shows measured values for the thickness of the spontaneous oxidefilm after AMP cleaning (ammonia hydrogen peroxide cleaning) of thesilicon substrate sample manufactured by the flow shown in FIG. 6, andmeasured values for the thickness of the spontaneous oxide film afterthe H₂ gas plasma processing by the flow shown in FIG. 6 respectively.In FIG. 7, the ordinate denotes the thickness (arbitrary unit) of thespontaneous oxide film and the abscissa denotes the sample after the APMcleaning and the sample after the H₂ gas plasma processing.

For the sample after the APM cleaning, as the flow shown in FIG. 6, thethickness of the spontaneous oxide film is measured after the DHFcleaning (diluted hydrofluoric acid cleaning) and the APM cleaning. Forthe sample after the H₂ gas plasma processing, the thickness of thespontaneous oxide film is measured after the H₂ gas plasma processingwhich is performed after the DHF cleaning and the APM cleaning.

In the sample processed by the H₂ gas plasmas, data are obtained bysetting the temperature of the heater 217 b to 600° C. (shown by □ inthe drawing) and 900° C. (shown by ● in the drawing) respectively in astate of directly placing the wafer 200 on the susceptor 217 forimproving the experimental accuracy by controlling the temperature ofthe wafer 200. As shown in FIG. 7, the spontaneous oxide film can beremoved by increasing the temperature of the heater 217 b higher andperforming the H₂ gas plasma processing.

In the third embodiment, since nitridation can be performed successivelyto the processing by the H₂ gas plasmas in one identical process chamber201, the wafer 200 is not exposed to atmospheric air in the course ofthe process and the nitridation can be applied more efficiently.

(d) Further, the third embodiment can provide a configuration ofexciting and ionizing the H₂ gas into plasmas in a state of supportingthe wafer 200 on the wafer projection pins 266 while spacing apart fromthe susceptor 217. Since this can increase the distance between thewafer 200 and the impedance control electrode 217 c and decrease thecapacitance between the wafer 200 and the impedance control electrode217 c, the bias potential of the wafer 200 can be weakened. That is, aforce of drawing active species in the plasmas into the wafer 200 can beweakened. Accordingly, even when an uneven pattern is formed to thewafer 200 and a spontaneous oxide film is further formed on the surfaceof the uneven pattern, the spontaneous oxide film formed on the bottomand the upper surface and the spontaneous oxide film formed on thelateral side of the uneven pattern can be removed uniformly.

(e) Further, the third embodiment can perform not only the temperatureelevation of the wafer 200 but also the auxiliary processing such asremoval of the spontaneous oxide film in the temperature elevation step.This can improve the efficiency in the substrate processing step toimprove the productivity of the substrate processing.

(f) Further, the third embodiment can heat the wafer 200 from above bythe heated gas or the lamp heating unit 280. This can further decreasethe difference of the temperature elevation rate between the uppersurface and the lower surface of the wafer 200.

(g) Further, in a case of using the heated gas, since the periphery ofthe wafer 200 is filled with the gas at a predetermined temperature,heat dissipation from the outer periphery of the wafer 200 can besuppressed to decrease also the difference of the temperature elevationrate within the plane of the wafer 200 and improve the temperatureuniformity of the wafer 200 further.

Fourth Embodiment

A structure at the periphery of a susceptor 217 of a substrateprocessing apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the inventionis to be described with reference to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9. FIG. 8 is avertical cross sectional view schematically showing the structure andthe arrangement of a gas flow restriction channel 144 according to thefourth embodiment of the invention. FIG. 9 is a perspective viewschematically showing a cover 140 forming the gas flow restrictionchannel 144 according to the fourth embodiment of the invention. In asubstrate processing apparatus 100 of the fourth embodiment, the cover140 is provided to the substrate processing apparatus 100 in the firstto third embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 8, the gas flow restriction channel 144 is defined as agap between a vertical part 140 b of the cover 140 and a protectivemember 151 for the lateral side of the inner wall. The gas flowrestriction channel 144 may also be defined as a gap between thevertical part 140 b of the cover 140 and a protective member 152 b forthe lateral side of the wafer transport port.

The cover 140 protruding outward in the horizontal direction from theend of the upper surface of the susceptor 217 and forming the gas flowrestriction channel 144 is provided to the susceptor 217. The cover 140is formed, for example, of quartz. As shown in FIG. 9, the horizontalpart 140 a of the cover 140 is a ring-shaped plate having no holes andextending in the horizontal direction, which surrounds the peripheralend of the surface of the susceptor 217 for supporting the wafer 200.With such a structure, a horizontal plane contiguous with the wafer 200can be formed to the periphery of the wafer 200, which can provide thesame effect as in the case of extending the upper surface of thesusceptor 217. That is, since a portion where the flow of the processinggas or the plasmas is uniform is extended, the processing uniformitywithin the plane of the wafer 200 can be improved.

A skirt-shaped vertical part 140 b is formed to the outermost peripheryof the horizontal part 140 a being bended by 90 degree from thehorizontal part 140 a and extended downward vertically. A portion of thevertical part 140 b is recessed to form a recess 140 c so as not toclose the gas exhaustion port 235 during substrate processing. Therecess 140 c is formed corresponding to the position for the gasexhaustion port 235. Further, the vertical part 140 b closes the wafertransport port 160 during substrate processing.

The distance between the cover 140 and the side wall of the lower vessel211 in the horizontal direction is, for example, 1.0 mm or more and 2.5mm or less. Specifically, the cover 140 is formed such that the gapbetween the outer surface of the vertical part 140 b and the innersurface of the protective member 151 for the lateral side of the innerwall provided to the inner surface of the side wall of the lower vessel211 is 1.0 mm or more and 2.5 mm or less. With a view point of themanufacturing accuracy, it is difficult to decrease the size of the gapto less than 1 mm. Further, the diameter of the susceptor 217 is made toa size larger than the size of the substrate placed on the susceptor 217and this is, for example, about 340 mm. The radial width of thehorizontal part 140 a of the cover 140 is about 60 mm. The gas suppliedin the process chamber 201 passes through the gap between the cover 140and the lower vessel 211 and is exhausted from the gas exhaustion port235 to the gas exhaustion pipe 231 a.

As described above, since the gas is exhausted through a narrow gap,that is, exhausted through a portion difficult for exhaustion, plasmasper se are less leaked from the portion above the susceptor 217 to thelower vessel 211. Further, since the ionized gas is also maintainedabove the cover 140, the gas contributing, for example, to filmdeposition can be formed and maintained efficiently. In this case, sincethe exhaustion conductance (smoothness of exhaustion) of the space belowthe susceptor 217 is higher than the exhaustion conductance of the spaceabove the substrate placing surface of the susceptor 217, the pressureabove the substrate placing surface of the susceptor 217 in the processchamber 201 is higher than the pressure below the susceptor 217 in theprocess vessel 203. That is, the pressure above the susceptor 217 can bemade higher than the pressure below the susceptor 217 and the plasmadensity above the susceptor 217 can be made higher by the cover 140.

Further, since the gas is exhausted from the entire circumference of thecover 140, the gas after processing flows uniformly in the directionfrom the periphery of the susceptor 217 to the bottom of the processvessel 203 and the flow rate of the gas flowing above the susceptor 217can be made uniform in the circumferential direction of the susceptor217 to ensure the uniformity of the film, for example, formed to thesurface of the wafer 200.

Further, since the distance between the lateral side of the verticalpart 140 b of the cover 140 and the inner wall of the process chamber201 is, for example, as narrow as 1.0 mm or more and 2.5 mm or less, theexhaustion conductance in the space from the substrate placing surfaceof the susceptor 217 to the lower side of the susceptor 217 is lowerthan the exhaustion conductance in the space above the susceptor 217.Accordingly, it takes a time for the activated gas constituting theplasmas generated in the space above the susceptor 217 to reach from thespace above the substrate placing surface of the susceptor 217 to theperiphery of the gate valve 244 and the gas is deactivated (loss ofactivity). Accordingly, this can prevent the active species or plasmasfrom attacking the gate valve 244 and can suppress the generation ofimpurities causing contamination.

Further, since the cover 140 extends as far as the inner wall of theprocess chamber 201 and is close to the wafer transport port 160, sothat the gate valve 244 at the ground potential is impenetrable from theplasma generation region 224, plasmas can be restricted from being drawnto the gate valve 244 to improve the uniformity of processing and theactive species or plasmas can be prevented from attacking the gate valve244.

Further, by changing the position for the height of the susceptor 217,the uniformity of processing can be improved, the volume in the processchamber 201 can be changed while suppressing generation of contaminants,and the positional relation between the plasma generation region 224 andthe wafer 200 can be controlled. As described above, the range for theprocess window (process condition) can be extended upon conductingprocessing such as film deposition.

Further, since it is configured such that the cover 140 does not closethe gas exhaustion port 235, it is possible to control such that theexhaustion conductance of the space above the substrate placing surfaceof the susceptor 217 is lower than the exhaustion conductance in thespace below the susceptor 217 while keeping the exhaustion conductancein the space below the susceptor 217 equal with that of the gasexhaustion portion 235 and contaminants, if generated below thesusceptor 217, can be prevented from flowing to the portion above thesusceptor 217.

In this embodiment, while the inner periphery of the horizontal part 140a of the cover 140 overlaps the outer peripheral end at the uppersurface of the susceptor 217 and the cover 140 is provided so as tocover both the peripheral end of the upper surface and the lateral sideof the susceptor 217, it may be also provided so as to cover either theupper surface end or the lateral side of the susceptor 217. When thecover 140 covers only the lateral side of the susceptor 217, it isconfigured such that the outer periphery of the susceptor 217 is closeto the side wall of the lower vessel 211. Alternatively, as shown in themodified example of FIG. 10, a cover 143 for susceptor lateral sideclose to the side wall of the lower vessel 211 may be attached to thelateral side of the susceptor 217.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, an insulator such as a protective member151 for the lateral side of the inner wall formed of a non-metalmaterial such as aluminum oxide or quartz is provided to the inside ofthe lower vessel 211 so as to be in contact with the side wall of thelower vessel 211, and a gas flow restriction channel 144 is providedbetween the protective member 151 and the cover 140. In such astructure, the exhaustion conductance in the space from the substrateplacing surface of the susceptor 217 to the lower side of susceptor 217is lower than the exhaustion conductance in the space above thesusceptor 217. Accordingly, it takes a long time for the active gasconstituting the plasmas generated above the susceptor 217 to reach fromthe portion above the susceptor to the vicinity of the gate valve 244and the active gas is deactivated.

Further, at the inside of the wafer transport port 160, an insulatorsuch as a protective member 152 for wafer transport port formed of anon-metal material such as aluminum oxide or quartz is provided so as tobe in contact with the inner wall of the wafer transport port 160. Sucha configuration can prevent the lower vessel 211 formed of metal frombeing exposed to the plasmas not deactivated completely in the channelbetween the vertical part 140 b of the cover 140 and the protectivemember 151 on the lateral side of the inner wall. As a result, dischargeof plasmas in the vicinity of the gate valve 244 can be suppressedfurther.

Further, a protective member 153 for the lower surface of the inner wallis provided to the bottom wall of the lower vessel 211. With such aconfiguration, the lower vessel 211 can be prevented from being exposedto the plasmas not deactivated completely in the channel between thevertical part 140 b of the cover 140 and the protective member 151 forthe lateral side of the inner wall. As a result, metal contamination ofthe lower vessel 211 caused by exposure to the plasmas can be preventedmore reliably.

FIG. 11 shows the data for the thickness of the oxide film deposited byusing the substrate processing apparatus according to the fourthembodiment of the invention and a comparative data. The gas supply unitin this case is configured so as to supply an oxygen gas and a hydrogengas to the process chamber 201. Data in FIG. 11 are those obtained bysetting the heater temperature to 900°, the flow rate of the oxygen gasto 476 sccm, the flow rate of the hydrogen gas to 25 sccm, the power ofthe high frequency power source 273 to 2 kW, and the high frequencypower application time to 240 sec. The abscissa denotes a voltage (V)when controlling the voltage of the susceptor 217 by using a variableimpedance mechanism 274 and the ordinate denotes a film thickness({acute over (Å)}). 41 to 43 represent data for the thickness of thefilm formed by using the substrate processing apparatus according to thefourth embodiment, which are obtained by setting the distance betweenthe cover 140 and the side wall of the lower vessel 211 to 2.5 mm. 41represents data for the pressure in the process chamber 201 of 180 Pa,42 represents data for the pressure in the process chamber 201 of 220Pa, and 43 represents data for the pressure in the process chamber 201of 260 Pa.

51 to 53 represent comparative data, which are data for the thickness ofoxide films formed by using existent substrate processing apparatus inwhich the distance between the cover 140 and the side wall of the lowervessel 211 is about 2.5 mm and plural holes each of about 6 mm diameterare arranged at the outer periphery of the cover 140, 51 represents datafor the pressure in the process chamber 201 of 180 Pa, 52 representsdata for the pressure in the process chamber 201 of 220 Pa, and 53represents data for the pressure in the press chamber 201 of 260 Pa.

It can be seen from FIG. 11, that in the fourth embodiment the thicknessof the film can be increased in an identical processing time, that is,the processing rate can be improved more than that of the existentsubstrate processing apparatus.

While the oxygen gas and the hydrogen gas are used as the reaction gasin the fourth embodiment, a nitrogen gas, an ammonia gas, etc. can beused as the reaction gas in accordance with the content of processing.

The fourth embodiment provides one or plural the following effects.

(a) Since the gas flow restriction channel is provided to the end of thesubstrate support unit, flow of the excited processing gas generatedabove the substrate support unit can be restricted from flowing in thedirection below the substrate support unit and the processing gasflowing in the direction below the substrate support unit can bedeactivated. Thus, since the exhaustion speed of the plasmas (activespecies of the processing gas) formed above the substrate support unitis lowered, the gas contributing to the film formation can be generatedand maintained efficiently to improve the processing rate.(b) When the distance between the gas flow restriction channel and theinner wall of the process chamber, that is, the distance between theoutmost periphery of the cover and the inner wall of the process chamberis made 1.0 mm or more and 2.5 mm or less, since the exhaustion speed ofthe plasmas formed above the substrate support unit can be easilylowered, the gas contributing to film formation can be generated andmaintained at higher efficiency to improve the processing rate.(c) When the gas flow restriction channel is formed as a gap between thecover provided so as to cover either one or both of the upper surfaceend and the lateral side of the substrate support unit and theprotective member provided to the inner wall of the process chamber,disturbance of the flow of the processing gas flowing at the surface ofthe substrate placed on the substrate support unit is suppressed anduniform processing in the substrate can be conducted easily by coveringthe end of the upper surface of the substrate support unit by the cover.Further, since a stable gas channel directing to the gas exhaustion portis formed by covering the lateral sides of the substrate support unitwith the cover, disturbance of the flow of the processing gas flowing atthe surface of the substrate placed on the substrate support unit isfurther suppressed and, plasmas are suppressed from attacking the metalmaterial such as the transporting port for loading and unloading thesubstrate, and generation of impurities causing contamination issuppressed.(d) Since the gas flow restriction channel is provided to the end of thesubstrate support unit, the exhaustion conductance above the substratesupport unit is decreased to lower than the exhaustion conductance belowthe substrate support unit, the pressure above the substrate supportunit can be increased. Accordingly, when the substrate temperatureelevation step in the first to third embodiments is performed in thesubstrate processing apparatus of the fourth embodiment, the temperatureof the substrate can be elevated further at a higher rate.

Fifth Embodiment

Then, a substrate processing apparatus of a fifth embodiment accordingto the invention is to be described.

In the substrate processing apparatus of the fifth embodiment, the cover140 for the substrate processing apparatus of the fourth embodiment isreplaced with a cover 142. Since other components are identical withthose of the substrate processing apparatus of the fourth embodiment,descriptions for them are to be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 12, holes 142 d for exhaustion are apertured in theoutermost periphery of the horizontal part 142 a of a cover 142. FIG. 12is a perspective view of the cover 142 forming a gas flow restrictionchannel according to the fifth embodiment of the invention. Holes 142 dare small holes each having a diameter of 1 mm or more and 6 mm or lesswhich are present in plurality over the entire outer periphery of thecover. The diameter of the hole 142 d is smaller than that of the holein the cover of the existent apparatus. Further, the gap between thecover and the side wall of the vessel is larger than 2.5 mm in the samemanner as in the existent apparatus. The supplied gas is exhaustedthrough the gap and the holes 142 d. Thus, the gas after processingflows uniformly in the direction from the periphery of the susceptor 217to the bottom of the process vessel 203 and is exhausted from theexhaustion port 235 formed in the lower vessel 211. The gap between thecover and the inside of the lateral wall of the vessel can be made 1.0mm or more and 2.5 mm or less in the same manner as in the fourthembodiment. Further, instead of making the diameter of the holes 142 dsmaller, the thickness of the cover may be increased to make the hole142 d longer thereby lowering the exhaustion conductance. Further, theexhaustion conductance may be lowered by decreasing the number of theholes 142 d.

Since the gas is exhausted through the narrow gap and the small holes142 d, the plasmas or ionized gas is maintained above the cover 142 andless leaked toward the lower vessel 211 also by the cover 142 of thefifth embodiment in the same manner as the cover 140 of the fourthembodiment. Accordingly, the gas contributing, for example, to the filmformation can be generated and maintained efficiently. That is, thepressure above the susceptor 217 can be increased to higher than thepressure below the susceptor 217 and the plasma density above thesusceptor 217 can be increased by the cover 142.

Further, since the gas is exhausted from the entire periphery of thecover 142, the gas after processing flows uniformly from the peripheryof the susceptor 217 to the bottom of the process vessel 203.Accordingly, the flow rate of the gas flowing on the susceptor 217 canbe made uniform in the circumferential direction of the susceptor 217and the uniformity of the film formed to the wafer 200 can be ensuredwithin the plane of the wafer.

The fifth embodiment provides, the following effects.

(a) Since small holes each having a diameter of 1 mm or more and 6 mm orless are formed over the entire outer circumference of the horizontalsurface of the cover, the exhaustion speed of the plasmas formed abovethe substrate support unit is lowered and the gas contributing to thefilm formation can be generated and maintained efficiently to improvethe processing rate. Further, disturbance of the flow of the processinggas flowing on the surface of the substrate placed on the substratesupport unit can be suppressed to facilitate uniform processing withinthe plane of the substrate.(b) Since the exhaustion conductance above the substrate support unit ismade lower than the exhaustion conductance below the substrate supportunit, the pressure above the substrate support unit can be increased.Accordingly, when the substrate temperature elevation step in the firstto third embodiments is performed by the substrate processing apparatusof the fifth embodiment, the temperature of the substrate can beelevated at a higher rate.

Other Embodiments of the Invention

While each of the embodiments of the invention has been describedspecifically, the invention is not restricted to each of the embodimentsand can be modified variously within a range not departing from the gistthereof.

For example, in the first to third embodiments, while the wafer 200supported on the wafer projection pins 266 is transferred onto thesusceptor 217 by lifting the susceptor 217, the wafer 200 may betransferred onto the susceptor, for example, also by providing a drivingmechanism to the wafer projection pins for lifting and lowering them andthe wafer 200 may be transferred on the susceptor by lowering the waferprojection pins. Further, in the embodiments, while the susceptor 217 islowered when the wafer 200 is supported on the wafer projection pins266, the wafer 200 may be supported on the wafer projection pins bylifting the wafer projection pins. This can simplify the mechanism forlifting operation further than the lifting operation of the susceptor217 to save the consumption power of the substrate processing apparatus.Further, the driving mechanism for lifting, etc. may be provided to thesusceptor and the wafer projection pins respectively, so that both ofthe susceptor and the wafer projection pins conduct lifting operationand they respectively conduct lifting operation relatively.

Further, in the first to third embodiments, while the wafer 200 issupported being spaced apart from the susceptor 217 by the waferprojection pins 266 in the substrate temperature elevation step, thewafer 200 may be supported not only by the wafer projection pins 266 butalso the wafer 200 may be supported being spaced apart from thesusceptor, for example, by suspending and supporting the wafer 200 abovethe susceptor while spacing apart by a predetermined distance, or bystopping the transporting mechanism for loading the wafer 200 into theprocess chamber 201 above the susceptor for a predetermined time.

Further, unevenness fabrication (embossing fabrication) may be appliedto the upper surface of the susceptor and wafer 200 may also besupported on the convex portions at the upper surface of the susceptorwhen the wafer 200 is transferred from the wafer projection pins 266 tothe susceptor. This can suppress abrupt heating of the wafer 200 whenthe wafer 200 is transferred to the susceptor. Further, since the areaof contact between the susceptor and the wafer 200 is decreased,generation of particles can be suppressed. Further, lateral slip of thewafer 200 can be suppressed when the wafer 200 is placed. Further,scratches, etc. formed at the rear face of the wafer 200 can bedecreased. Further, warp of the wafer 200 can be decreased.

Further, as has been described above, the heater 217 b provided to thesusceptor 217, the lamp heating unit 280, the plasma generation unit,the gas supply unit for supplying heated gas, etc. can be used as theheating unit. In this case, the heating unit may be one of the heater217 b, the lamp heating unit 280, the plasma generation unit, and thegas supply unit, or may be a combination of several or all of them. Ineach of the combinations, the temperature circumstance for the upper andthe lower surfaces of the wafer 200 can be made uniform by supportingthe wafer 200 being spaced apart from the susceptor 217 or propertycontrolling the distance between the susceptor 217 and the wafer 200 inthe substrate temperature elevation step. Accordingly, difference of thetemperature elevation rate less occurs between the upper and lowersurfaces and the temperature uniformity of the wafer 200 can beimproved.

Further, the gas supplied to the process chamber 201 to increase thepressure or the gas to be ionized into plasmas in the substratetemperature elevation step is not restricted to the N₂ gas or the H₂ gasshown in the embodiments but can be selected optionally depending on thecontents of the substrate surface processing or the surface state of thewafer 200 (formation of predetermined film or not). Several specificexamples are shown below.

For example, in the nitridation of the Si surface or the silicon oxidefilm (SiO₂ film) of the wafer 200, a rare gas that is an Ar gas, a H_(e)gas, and a Kr gas, etc. may be used, for example, in addition to the N₂gas and the H₂ gas. However, an O₂ gas is not preferred since O₂ maypossibly remain in the process chamber 201 to lower the nitridationefficiency.

Further, for oxidation of Si, etc., an N₂ gas, an O₂ gas, an H₂ gas, arare gas, etc. may be used. However, use of the H₂ gas is not preferredin the formation of a gate oxide film of a semiconductor device such asa flash memory since the H₂ gas is taken into the gate oxide film topossibly worsen the electric characteristic.

Further, for annealing, an N₂ gas, a rare gas, etc. may be used.However, a gas such as an O₂ gas or an H₂ gas that may possibly oxidizeor reduce the wafer 200 or the film formed on the wafer 200 at a hightemperature during annealing is not preferred.

Further, when selective oxidation of oxidizing the poly-Si film withoutoxidizing the metal film is performed to a laminate structure of apoly-Si film comprising SiO₂ and a metal film, an N₂ gas, an O₂ gas, aH₂ gas, a rare gas, etc. may be used and, upon various film depositionusing CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition), an N₂ gas or a rare gas can beused.

In each of the substrate surface processing, the heat conductionefficiency can be improved more by using a gas, for example, an He gashaving small molecular weight and molecular size.

Further, the present invention is applicable not only to the substratesurface processing described above but also to substrate surfaceprocessing such as oxynitridation of performing oxidation andnitridation together, diffusion, etching, annealing, etc. to a barewafer or a wafer where various kinds of films are formed. The substratesurface processing can be performed by using or not using plasmas.

Further, in the embodiments, while processing applied to the wafer hasbeen described, the target for processing may also be a photomask, aprinted wiring board, a liquid crystal panel, a compact disk, a magneticdisk, etc.

The present specification includes at least the following aspects of theinvention.

A first aspect of the invention provides a substrate processingapparatus including:

-   -   a process chamber for processing a substrate,    -   a first substrate support unit for supporting the substrate        loaded into the process chamber,    -   a second substrate support unit provided in the process chamber        for supporting the substrate transferred from the first        substrate support unit,    -   a heating unit for heating the substrate loaded into the process        chamber,    -   a control unit for controlling the first substrate support unit        and the heating unit or controlling the second substrate support        unit and the heating unit for supporting the substrate loaded        into the process chamber on the first substrate support unit so        as to be spaced apart from the second substrate support unit,        heating to elevate the temperature of the substrate supported on        the first substrate support unit by the heating unit,        transferring the substrate supported on the first substrate        support unit after lapse of a predetermined time to the second        substrate support unit, and processing the substrate supported        on the second substrate support unit while heating by the        heating unit.

A second aspect according to the first aspect, wherein

-   -   the control unit is adapted supporting the substrate loaded into        the process chamber on the first substrate support unit above        the second substrate support unit.

A third aspect according to the first or second aspect, wherein

-   -   the distance between the substrate supported on the first        substrate support unit and the second substrate support unit is        controlled in accordance with the difference between the        temperature of the substrate and the temperature of the second        substrate support unit heated to a predetermined temperature by        the heating unit upon loading the substrate into the process        chamber.

A fourth aspect according to the first to third aspects wherein

-   -   a gas supply unit for supplying a gas in the process chamber and    -   a gas exhaustion unit for exhausting the gas from the inside of        the process chamber are provided, in which    -   the control unit is adapted for controlling the gas supply unit        and the gas exhaustion unit, upon elevation of the temperature        of the substrate supported on the first substrate support unit,        by supplying a gas to the process chamber by the gas supply unit        thereby increasing the pressure in the process chamber to higher        than the pressure when the substrate is loaded, or the pressure        when the substrate supported on the second substrate support        unit is processed.

A fifth aspect according to the fourth aspect, wherein

-   -   the heating unit includes a plasma generation unit for exciting        the gas supplied to the process chamber, and    -   the control unit is adapted for controlling the plasma        generation unit so as to excite the gas supplied from the gas        supply unit by the plasma generation unit upon elevation of the        temperature of the substrate supported on the first substrate        support unit.

A sixth aspect according to the fifth aspect, wherein

-   -   a hydrogen-containing gas is used as the gas supplied from the        gas supply unit upon elevation of the temperature of the        substrate supported on the first substrate support unit in a        case where a spontaneous oxide film is formed on the surface of        the substrate loaded into the process chamber.

A seventh aspect according to the first to sixth aspects, wherein

-   -   the heating unit includes a lamp heating device provided above        the first substrate support unit, and    -   the control unit is adapted for controlling the lamp heating        device so as to heat the substrate supported on the first        substrate support unit from above by the lamp heating device        upon elevation of the temperature of the substrate supported on        the first substrate support unit.

An eighth aspect according to the first to seventh aspects, wherein

-   -   the second substrate support unit has through holes in which the        first substrate support unit is passed through vertically, and    -   the control unit is adapted for inserting the first substrate        support unit through the through holes and supporting the        substrate at a position above the upper surface of the second        substrate support unit when the substrate loaded into the        process chamber is supported on the first substrate support        unit, and    -   positioning the first substrate support unit below the upper        surface of the second substrate support unit and supporting the        substrate on the second substrate support unit when the        substrate supported on the first substrate support unit is        transferred to the second substrate support unit.

A ninth aspect according to the eighth aspect, wherein

-   -   the second substrate support unit has convex portions formed to        the surface for supporting the substrate, and    -   the control unit is adapted for supporting the substrate on the        convex portions of the second substrate support unit when the        substrate supported on the first substrate support unit is        transferred to the second substrate support unit.

A tenth aspect provides a method of manufacturing a semiconductor deviceincluding the steps of:

-   -   loading a substrate into a process chamber for processing the        substrate and supporting the substrate on a first substrate        support unit,    -   elevating the temperature of the substrate supported on the        first substrate support unit for a predetermined time,    -   transferring the substrate supported on the first substrate        support unit to a second substrate support unit provided in the        process chamber after the step of elevating the temperature of        the substrate,    -   processing the surface of the substrate transferred to the        second substrate support unit while heating, and    -   unloading the substrate processed in the step of processing the        surface of the substrate from the inside of the process chamber.

A 11th aspect according to the tenth aspect, wherein

-   -   the substrate loaded into the process chamber in the step of        loading the substrate is supported on the first substrate        support unit above the second substrate support unit so as to be        spaced apart from the second substrate support unit.

A 12th aspect according to the tenth or 11th aspect, wherein

-   -   the distance between the substrate supported on the first        substrate support unit and the second substrate support unit is        controlled in accordance with the difference of the temperature        between the temperature of the substrate and the temperature of        the second substrate support unit heated to a predetermined        temperature by the heating unit when the substrate is loaded        into the process chamber.

A 13th aspect according to the tenth to 12th aspects, wherein

-   -   a gas is supplied to the process chamber and the pressure in the        process chamber is increased in the step of elevating the        temperature of the substrate to higher than the pressure in the        step of loading the substrate or the pressure in the step of        processing the surface of the substrate.

A 14th aspect according to the 13th aspect, wherein

-   -   the gas supplied in the process chamber is ionized into plasmas        and excited in the step of elevating the temperature of the        substrate.

A 15th aspect according to the 14th aspect, wherein

-   -   a hydrogen-containing gas is supplied to the process chamber and        the hydrogen-containing gas is ionized into plasmas and excited        in the step of elevating the temperature of the substrate in a        case where a spontaneous oxide film is formed on the surface of        the substrate loaded into the process chamber.

A 16th aspect according to the tenth to 15th aspects, wherein

-   -   the substrate supported on the first substrate support unit is        heated from above by a lamp in the step of elevating the        temperature of the substrate.

A 17th aspect provides a substrate processing apparatus comprising:

-   -   a process chamber provided with a substrate support unit (second        substrate support unit) for supporting the substrate,    -   a gas supply unit for supplying a processing gas from above the        substrate support unit to the process chamber,    -   a plasma generation unit for exciting the processing gas        supplied to the process chamber,    -   a gas exhaustion unit provided below the substrate support unit        for exhausting the gas in the process chamber,    -   a gas flow restriction channel provided to the end of the        substrate support unit for restricting the flow of the excited        processing gas generated above the substrate support unit in the        direction below the substrate support unit thereby deactivating        the processing gas flowing in the direction below the substrate        support unit, and    -   a protective member provided to the inner wall of the process        chamber at least below the substrate placing surface of the        substrate support unit.

A 18th aspect provides a substrate processing apparatus including:

-   -   a process chamber provided with a substrate support unit (second        substrate support unit) for supporting the substrate,    -   a gas supply unit for supplying a processing gas from above the        substrate support unit to the process chamber,    -   a plasma generation unit for exciting the processing gas        supplied to the process chamber,    -   a gas exhaustion unit provided below the substrate support unit        for exhausting the gas in the process chamber, and    -   a gas flow restriction channel provided to the end of the        substrate support unit, and formed such that the distance        relative to the inner wall of the process chamber is 1.0 mm or        more and 2.5 mm or less.

A 19th aspect according to the 17th or 18th aspect, provides a substrateprocessing apparatus wherein

-   -   the gas flow restriction channel is a channel between a cover        provided so as to cover one or both of the end of the upper        surface and the lateral side of the substrate support unit and a        protective member provided to inner wall of the process chamber.

A 20th aspect provides a substrate processing apparatus including:

-   -   a process chamber provided with a substrate support unit (second        substrate support unit) for supporting the substrate,    -   a gas supply unit for supplying a processing gas from above the        substrate support unit to the process chamber,    -   a plasma generation unit for exciting the processing gas        supplied to the process chamber,    -   a gas exhaustion unit provided below the substrate support unit        for exhausting the gas in the process chamber, and    -   a cover for covering the end of the upper surface of the        substrate support unit in which holes each having a diameter of        1 mm or more and less than 6 mm are formed over the entire outer        circumference of the horizontal surface of the cover.

A 21th aspect according to the 20th aspect provides a substrateprocessing apparatus wherein

-   -   the cover is provided so as to cover both the end of the upper        surface and the lateral side of the substrate support unit.

A 22th aspect provides a method of manufacturing a semiconductor deviceincluding the steps of:

-   -   loading a substrate into a process chamber provided with a        protective member to the inner wall of a process chamber at        least below the substrate placing surface of a substrate support        unit (second substrate support unit),    -   supporting the substrate on the substrate support unit provided        with a gas flow restriction channel for restricting a gas flow        at the end thereof,    -   supplying a processing gas to the process chamber from the gas        supply unit,    -   exciting the processing gas supplied to the process chamber by a        plasma generation unit,    -   exhausting the gas in the process chamber from below the        substrate support unit, and    -   unloading the substrate from the process chamber.

A 23th aspect provides a method of manufacturing a semiconductor deviceincluding the steps of:

-   -   loading a substrate into a process chamber,    -   supporting the substrate loaded into the process chamber by a        substrate support unit (second substrate support unit) provided        in the process chamber and having a gas flow restriction channel        provided at the end of the substrate support unit and formed        such that the distance relative to the inner wall of the process        chamber is 1.0 mm or more and 2.5 mm or less.    -   supplying a processing gas from above the substrate supporting        unit to the process chamber,    -   exciting the processing gas supplied to the process chamber,    -   exhausting the gas in the process chamber from below the        substrate support unit, and    -   unloading the substrate from the process chamber.

A 24th aspect provides a method of manufacturing a semiconductor deviceincluding the steps of:

-   -   loading a substrate into a process chamber,    -   supporting the substrate loaded into the process chamber on a        substrate support unit (second substrate support unit) provided        in the process chamber and having a cover for covering the end        of the upper surface of the substrate support unit in which        holes are formed each having a diameter of 1 mm or more and less        than 6 mm over the entire outer circumference of the horizontal        surface of the cover,    -   supplying a processing gas from above the substrate supporting        unit to the process chamber,    -   exciting the processing gas supplied to the process chamber,    -   exhausting the gas in the process chamber from below the        substrate support unit, and    -   unloading the substrate from the process chamber.

A 25th aspect provides a method of manufacturing a semiconductor deviceincluding the steps of:

-   -   loading a substrate into a process chamber and supporting the        substrate on a substrate support unit (second substrate support        unit) in the process chamber,    -   supplying a processing gas from above the substrate support unit        to the process chamber,    -   exciting the processing gas supplied to the process chamber,    -   flowing a gas above the substrate support unit in the direction        below the substrate support unit from a gas flow restriction        channel in which the distance between the substrate support unit        and the inner wall of the process chamber is 1.0 mm or more and        2.5 mm or less,    -   exhausting the gas in the process chamber from below the        substrate support unit, and    -   unloading the substrate from the process chamber.

A 26th aspect provides a method of manufacturing a semiconductor deviceincluding the steps of:

-   -   loading a substrate into a process chamber and supporting the        substrate on a substrate support unit (second substrate support        unit) in the process chamber,    -   supplying a processing gas from above the substrate support unit        to the process chamber,    -   exciting the processing gas supplied to the process chamber,    -   flowing a gas above the substrate support unit in the direction        below the substrate support unit from holes each having a        diameter of 1 mm or more and less than 6 mm formed over the        entire outer circumference of the horizontal surface of the        cover covering the end of the upper surface of the substrate        support unit,    -   exhausting the gas in the process chamber from below the        substrate support unit, and    -   unloading the substrate from the process chamber.

Any one of the 17th aspect to 21th aspect can be combined with any oneof the first aspect to the ninth aspect of the substrate processingapparatus. Further, any one of the 22th aspect to the 26th aspect can becombined with any one of the tenth aspect to 16th aspect of the methodof manufacturing the semiconductor device. With such a combinedconfiguration, since the exhaustion conductance above the substratesupport unit is lower than the exhaustion conductance below thesubstrate support unit, the pressure above the substrate support unitcan be increased. Accordingly, the temperature of the substrate can beelevated more rapidly in the substrate temperature elevation step.

What is claimed is:
 1. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: aprocess chamber; a processor; a controllable susceptor lifting mechanismconfigured to receive a control signal from the processor to raise andlower a susceptor with respect to a bottom surface of the processchamber; the susceptor disposed on the controllable susceptor liftingmechanism and having through holes formed therein; a pin fixed to theprocess chamber, the pin being aligned with at least one of the throughholes formed in the susceptor; a controllable heating lamp provided inthe upper part of the process chamber and configured to receive acontrol signal from the processor to activate the controllable heatinglamp; a controllable heater integrally buried inside the susceptor andconfigured to receive a control signal from the processor to activatethe controllable heater; a controllable gas supply unit coupled to theprocess chamber and configured to receive a control signal from theprocessor to open and close valves of the controllable gas supply unitto supply gas to the process chamber; a controllable gas exhaustion unitcoupled to the process chamber and configured to receive a controlsignal from the processor to operate a pump of the controllable gasexhaustion unit to remove gas from the process chamber, wherein theprocessor is configured to: issue first control signals to thecontrollable susceptor lifting mechanism, the controllable heating lamp,the controllable heater and the controllable gas supply unit to lowerthe susceptor a predetermined distance toward the bottom surface of theprocess chamber, activate the controllable heating lamp and thecontrollable heater and open the valves of the controllable gas supplyunit while a substrate is supported on the pin, and after apredetermined time, issue second control signals to the controllablesusceptor lifting mechanism, the controllable heating lamp, thecontrollable heater and the controllable gas supply unit to raise thesusceptor a predetermined distance toward the top surface of the processchamber, transfer the substrate supported on the pin to the susceptorand open the valves of the controllable gas supply unit to supplyprocessing gas while the substrate is heated by the controllable heaterby activating the controllable heating lamp.
 2. A substrate processingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein an upper surface of thesusceptor has convex portions formed therein, surface for supporting thesubstrate.
 3. A substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,further comprising: a controllable plasma generator, disposed in theprocess chamber, comprising a power source and an electrode, wherein theprocessor is further configured to issue third control signals, to thecontrollable plasma generator in response to the temperature of thesubstrate reaching a predetermined temperature, to control the powersource to apply power to the electrode to excite the gas in the processchamber upon elevation of the temperature of the substrate supported onthe pin.
 4. A substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3,wherein a spontaneous oxide film is formed on the surface of thesubstrate loaded into the processing chamber, and a hydrogen-containinggas is used as a gas supplied from the gas supply unit during elevationof the temperature of the substrate supported on the pin.
 5. A substrateprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a plasmagenerator; and a protective member disposed adjacent the inner wall ofthe process chamber at least below a substrate placing surface of thesusceptor, the protective member defining a gas flow restriction channelbetween a lateral end of the susceptor and the protective member whenthe lateral end of the susceptor is disposed adjacent the protectivemember, wherein the gas flow restriction channel restricts the flow ofthe excited gas generated above the susceptor in the direction below thesusceptor thereby deactivating the gas flowing in the direction belowthe susceptor, between the lateral end of the susceptor and theprotective member.
 6. A substrate processing apparatus according toclaim 5, wherein the apparatus further comprises: a cover provided tothe susceptor, the control unit controls the susceptor position so thatthe gas flow restriction channel is between the protective member.